The Spillover Spiral
Located on Arrowsic Island in Maine, Squirrel Point Light is one of four navigational aids dating back to 1895 along the Kennebec River’s 11-mile stretch between the Atlantic Ocean and Bath. The property is surrounded by 640 acres of land conserved by Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and The Nature Conservancy.
Like many folks last summer, I got out of town, heading north to Maine to seek a reprieve from the Philadelphia region’s insufferable heat and humidity (and tornadoes). The heat, although not as intense as at home, was indeed there — and so was the humidity. On my agenda was a hike through Bald Head Preserve at the tip of Arrowsic Island, at the confluence of the Kennebec and Back Rivers. The solitude and the scenery were beautiful. The mosquitoes, not so much. They were relentless, tormenting the three of us as we hiked from Squirrel Point Light, through the 640-acre preserve, to Bald Head. It was a clarifying moment for me (“experiential” learning so to speak) that inspired how we would visually communicate the themes of this issue of Bellwether.
The role of sustained weather events on insect vectors; proliferation of infectious and zoonotic diseases; and inevitable spillover impacting humans, and animals, and landscapes — these issues are complex, connected, and scary. For the issue, I knew we needed a visual and imaginative vocabulary that simply conveyed these linkages. We found it in illustrator Jon Krause, whose work graces our cover and the feature story on Penn Vet’s new infectious disease institute. Krause, a Society of Illustrators gold medalist, captured so perfectly what we do here at Penn Vet. He got “us.” I do hope you take some time and linger on Jon’s illustrations. He gave us his best — and we are delighted with the result.
Enjoy the issue.
Martin J. Hackett, Editor
mhackett@vet.upenn.edu